KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Timothy Matthews, the former Kingston police detective lieutenant who was charged last year with stealing more than $200,000 in public and private money, will spend three to nine years in state prison after pleading guilty on Tuesday to two counts of grand larceny, according to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office.

Matthews also was ordered to pay a total of $212,000 in restitution to the city of Kingston, Ulster County and Ulster Saving Bank.

Matthews, 50, was taken into custody after pleading guilty and is being held in the Ulster County Jail pending his transfer to a state prison, according to his attorney, Michael Kavanagh Jr.

Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright said he did not yet know where Matthews will serve his time. He also said precautions were being taken at the county jail to protect Matthews from other inmates, but he would not be more specific.

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In pleading guilty to the two felony counts, Matthews admitted stealing more than $50,000 from the city (for which he headed the police department's Detective Division) between Jan. 1, 2001, and Feb. 3, 2011; and more than $50,000 from the county (for which he headed the anti-drug/anti-gang task force known as URGENT) between March 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2010, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The sentence for each count was three to nine years, but they will be served concurrently.

The District Attorney's Office said in a prepared statement that, all told, Matthews stole $122,000 from the city of Kingston and $80,000 from Ulster County and bilked Ulster Savings Bank, for which he handled security tasks, out of about $10,000.

Kavanagh asked acting Ulster County Judge Andrew Ceresia to sentence Matthews to six months in jail and probation and said he was disappointed by the harsher term.

He said Matthews should have been granted leniency because, among other things, the guilty plea saved the public the cost of a trial and spared local police and Matthews' family more bad publicity.

Matthews, addressing the court during his sentencing, apologized for his actions and acknowledged police officers should be held to a high standard, the District Attorney's Office said.

"What I did was wrong, and I deserve to go to jail," Matthews said, according to the district attorney.

Matthews also indicated that no one else in the city police department or URGENT participated in the thefts.

Carnright agreed, saying the investigation was "very extensive" and "led nowhere but to Tim Matthews."

Kavanagh said Matthews took the money, in part, because he had to pay $6,500 per month to help support six children.

"The reason (for the thefts) is simple," Kavanagh said. "It was not about greed. ... He wanted to make ends meet. It was desperation."

Kavanagh said Matthews' actions have been "weighing on him very heavily" but that when he spoke to Matthews on Monday, "he had come to terms with what has happened."

"I don't want to say he was calm, but he had come to terms with what his fate was going to be," the lawyer said.

Asked what Matthews thought about going to prison, Kavanagh said the former police officer was "well aware of what the situation is going to be."

Regarding the restitution, the District Attorney's Office said Matthews "had no assets with which to pay" and that the money will come out of Matthews' vested pension interest -- this despite a Freeman analysis of public records last year that showed Matthews received more than three-quarters of a million dollars in pay and benefits over four years leading up to his arrest in January 2011.

Matthews initially was charged only with stealing $9,000 from the city and was suspended without pay. He then was allowed to retire, with benefits, last April.

In June, however, Matthews was indicted by an Ulster County grand jury on 13 counts alleging he stole more than $200,000.

Carnright said Matthews was, at one point, working three jobs -- head of the city Detective Division, head of security at Kingston High School and a security position for Ulster Savings Bank. As part of his police work, Matthews also headed the multiagency Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team, or URGENT.

Carnright said on Tuesday that a review of the time Matthews claimed to have worked at all his jobs showed he could not have worked the hours for which he sought pay.

Between the three jobs, "there were some weeks where he put in for more hours than there were in the week," Carnright said.

In some instances, Carnright said, Matthews claimed more than 26 hours worked in a single day.

For Ulster Savings Bank, Matthews was responsible for security for the foreclosed Friar Tuck Inn property in Catskill to prevent vandalism, but the investigation found Matthews did not actually put in all the hours he was claiming, Carnright said.

Separately, Matthews was accused last year by the New York state comptroller of billing the city and the Kingston school district for identical hours worked, but Matthews has not been charged in that matter.

Carnright said his office did not pursue charges in that case because "we did not want to digress from the most serious issues" when presenting the case to a jury.

Matthews was to stand trial starting March 12.

Carnright said federal authorities still could pursue tax charges against Matthews. "We're pretty sure there were some violations there," he said.

Carnright said on Tuesday that he was "mindful of Mr. Matthews' record of service," but "in contrast, Matthews' actions were a breach of trust, both to the public and to the men and women who serve with him. Matthews' conviction is a stain not only on his reputation but also on the two organizations -- the Kingston Police Department and URGENT task force -- which have served our community with distinction."

"On balance, I felt a recommendation of sentence that would call only for the repayment of the sums stolen is not an appropriate sentence, and we recommended three to nine years in state prison," Carnright added.

Kingston Police Chief Egidio Tinti issued a prepared statement on Tuesday in which he said: "On behalf of the members of the Kingston Police Department, I want to thank the District Attorney's Office for the manner in which they handled the investigation.

"With this matter behind us, we can focus on rebuilding the public trust and strengthening the community's support for their police department," said Tinti, who succeeded Matthews as head of the city Detective Division early last year and became department chief when Gerald Keller retired at the end of October.

Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo, who took office last month, said Tuesday was "a sad day for the Kingston Police Department." But, he added, "it's in no way a reflection of the men and women who work very hard to protect and serve the city."

Also, Gallo said, "I'm sorry for his family -- his parents, his children."

Kingston Alderwoman Debbie Brown, R-Ward 9, called Matthews' conviction a "victory for the prosecution and the taxpayers of the city of Kingston and Ulster County."

But, she added, "it is also a somber day to realize that he had been stealing as he was being praised for his great works in the Kingston Police Department."

Brown said it's "sad to see an officer who initially started out doing great things slide into crime."

Matthews joined the Kingston Police Department as a patrolman in 1985 after working for the town of Ulster Police Department.

He was promoted to detective in Kingston in January 1991, detective sergeant in 1995 and detective lieutenant in 2001.